SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Cam Newton accelerated the growth of the Carolina Panthers’ offense last season. Their defense is attempting a similar turnaround this season powered by two players who couldn’t help them in 2011.

One is two-time All-Pro Jon Beason, who played in only one game in 2011 after suffering a left Achilles’ injury. The other is first-round pick Luke Kuechly, who was preparing for his final season at Boston College this time last year.

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The team hopes Beason's return will greatly improve a unit that finished 25th against the run last season. Kuechly is billed as a top cover linebacker who can help the Panthers better handle the talented tight ends in the NFC South.

Although Beason has played many more NFL downs than the rookie Kuechly, he also feels he has a fresh start in the Panthers’ current 4-3 system.

"It’s tough anytime something’s not going well and you’re kind of helpless," Beason said. “For me, staying healthy and trying to get acclimated to playing (middle linebacker) in a new scheme as fast as possible, is going to help our team tremendously."

When healthy, Beason has been among the NFC’s elite middle linebackers. When he wasn’t on the field last season, he couldn’t help but wonder how much better Newton’s first year could have been with more defensive support.

"The most frustrating part was watching what our offense was able to do with a shortened offseason," Beason said. "We know if we can just come along and kind of catch up, the sky’s the limit.”

Panthers coach Ron Rivera, a former Super Bowl-winning linebacker, sees the combination of Beason and Kuechly playing a big part in restoring the backbone of his defense.

"The biggest thing that’s happened for us is we’ve gotten that experience and speed back," Rivera said of his linebacker corps. "When you’ve got Jon Beason in there, and you’ve got Thomas Davis in there, it’s a different thing, because these guys have played five, six years in the league. When you watch Luke Kuechly with his athleticism and see some of the things he does, that’s exciting.”

Before the draft, many saw the Panthers going after help for their defensive line or opting for a receiver to assist Newton. Beason, however, was pleased they selected Kuechly to line up next to him.

"He’s going to be an outstanding NFL player," Beason said of Kuechly. "He’s very instinctive, extremely bright, runs well and has all the intangibles to be a great linebacker."

Kuechly has the ability to play the middle, but with Beason in that spot for the Panthers, Kuechly is projected to start on the weak (non-tight end) side. While Kuechly gets his feet wet with NFL coverage, it’s a comfortable place for him, in a scheme that uses similar zone concepts to the one at Boston College.

Strongside linebacker James Anderson thinks it will feel natural for the team’s other two starters to complement their strengths.

"Beason’s been around -- as an older veteran guy, he’s able to play off Luke," Anderson said. "Luke has good instincts so he’ll see things. When you have guys who can take chances and pick their spots, they work well as a team."

With the experience and depth that players such as Beason, Anderson and Davis bring to the Panthers, Kuechly is trying to absorb as much knowledge as he can in training camp to quickly enhance his natural abilities.

"Every day, they have been helping me out," Kuechly said. "I ask a million questions and they always answer them."

Kuechly has also been helped by sharing the field with the Panthers’ diverse passing game in practice, where he’s called upon to cover running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. Starting tight end Greg Olsen has provided a good taste of what Kuechly will see in division games featuring athletic pass-catchers such as Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark.

"A guy like Greg, he’s big, he’s fast, and he runs great routes," Kuechly said. "He knows what he’s doing. It’s great competing against a guy like that."

Kuechly came in with plenty of accolades based on his ability to diagnose and cover well downfield, but he’s also a strong tackler when flying upfield. Depending on the opponent, he will get his opportunities to blitz. It would be wrong to confuse his nice-guy looks and athleticism with “finesse.” He's a hardnosed linebacker driven to finish plays on both the ball and ballcarrier.

"You obviously want to thump them good and drive them back a little bit, but you just have to get to the ball,” Kuechly said of his pursuit and tackling. "When you get on the field, you just want to make an impact however you can."

Taking into the account the combined talent the Panthers have with Beason, Kuechly and Anderson, ample tackle and takeaway chances will be there, and the goal is to always have one of them in the ideal position to thwart the offense.

"There will be opportunity for each one of us to make every play," Anderson said. "We’ll probably be fighting each other to get tackles, which will be fun. That’s a good problem to have."

With Beason and Kuechly in the mix, the Panthers are also primed to find many good solutions in 2012.